Augusto López-Claros, director of global indicators and analysis with the World Bank Group, argues that it will require political will on the part of the Russian government to move Russia higher up in the World Bank’s Doing Business rating.

Russia has made
some progress in improving its business climate, moving up in the World Bank’s
Doing Business rating; yet the country can do more, provided it pursues a
consistent policy. This was the point of view stated by Augusto López-Claros,
director of global indicators and analysis with the World Bank Group, at a
conference that was part of the Gaidar Forum in Moscow.

“Russia has made
some progress and has improved its standing in this rating, this signifying
that reforms are moving in the right direction,” said López-Claros.

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He added that the
World Bank praised those efforts. López-Claros noted the Russian government’s
ambitious goal of rising to the 20th spot
on the list, even though the country still sits closer to the bottom in the
rankings.

Russia has
improved its position in the Doing Business 2013 rating (up to 112th from 120th),
occupying a place between Palau and El Salvador. The global rating covers 185
countries: Singapore has gained the top spot for the seventh year in a row,
followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Norway, the
United Kingdom, South Korea, Georgia, and Australia.

Successful
improvement of the investment climate (and, hence, a rise by Russia in the
World Bank’s Doing Business rating) will require political will, consistent
actions, and making progress, López-Claros noted. He added that this was not an
impossible task.

“Naturally, this
will require a consistent policy. But we see that the country has made progress
in improving its investment climate in recent years,” the analyst said.

López-Claros
pointed out that Russia’s position in the rating depends not only on its own
success but also on the policies pursued by other countries.

“Indeed, if you
run fast but the others run even faster, you’ll fall behind,” said
López-Claros.

Commenting on the
investment climate, the World Bank representative mentioned that investors were
looking for manpower that was not only cheap but also skilled; at the same
time, investors pay a lot of attention to the institutional environment and
choose places where “rules are reasonable, transparent, well-formulated, and predictable.”

López-Claros also
noted the global changes simultaneously taking place in this direction in all
countries over the last few years.

According to
López-Claros, the World Bank sees good dynamics in Central and Eastern Europe,
including Russia. The expert advised focusing on fostering competition in
transportation, improving education and fighting corruption.